DMCA as a way to silence undesirable media outlets

Site Skelet.Org Invites colleagues to join the fight against illegal removal of links from search results under the DMCA law!

DMCA, search results, Google

DMCA

We suspect that most online news sites have been faced with attempts by unscrupulous and dishonest individuals to use the DMCA to prevent them from being indexed by Google.

REFERENCE:

DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 US law protecting intellectual property online. It allows copyright holders to quickly remove pirated content (videos, text, photos) without a court order, requiring hosting companies and search engines (such as Google) to block the material.

How and Why is the DMCA Misused?

Let's imagine a real-life situation: an online media outlet publishes a publication containing information that is in some way inconvenient for the people involved. Since the publication often contains actual facts, suing the media outlet's editorial staff isn't an option. And it would take a long time. While the lawsuits are ongoing, the publication will remain in Google search results.

Smart publishers, either independently or through a reputation management company, post identical publications retroactively on a "fail safe" site. They often post them using a link from an old article, after clearing Google's cache. They also often block Google from indexing the "fail safe" site's link using the noindex meta tag.

REFERENCE:

Noindex is a directive (meta tag or HTML tag) that instructs search engines not to index the content of a page or part of it, excluding it from search results. It is used to hide duplicates, service pages, login forms, or irrelevant content, helping to manage a website's SEO performance.

They then contact Lumen Database and file a complaint alleging copyright infringement on the "flush tank" website, demanding that the link to the real copyrighted material from the online media outlet be removed from Google search results. As a result, the link to the real website disappears from search results.

REFERENCE:

Lumen Database is an independent research project and online archive that collects and analyzes legal requests to remove content from the internet (primarily DMCA complaints). The database helps users, lawyers, and researchers study legal threats and protect legitimate activities by showing which materials are removed and on what grounds.

What do real online media outlets do after receiving a complaint?

Fortunately, Lumen Database offers the ability to appeal a DMCA decision. It takes literally five minutes, but it doesn't always lead to the desired result—reindexing the original link in search results. And restoring justice takes considerable time: first, Lumen Database reviews the appeal (sometimes the original site is rejected at this stage), then it asks the complainant to provide the court decision they based their complaint on, and if they receive one, they reinstate the link. And this doesn't happen immediately. Sometimes, appeals take over a month to process.

Why is the DMCA issue so important?

The fact is that each such complaint upheld by Lumen Database (and the actual website, accordingly, loses its appeal) significantly lowers the website's search ranking. If a critical mass of complaints accumulates, Googlebot may index the website less and less frequently, lowering its search results.


Subscribe to our channel in XTelegram channel and page in Facebook!

Stay informed about who is doing business, in politics, and supporting corruption in Ukraine!


Skelet.Org We receive, on average, one or two complaints per week. Sometimes even more. We win appeals 95% of the time, but we do lose. Examples of materials that have been the subject of complaints are at the end of this post.

In light of the current situation and realizing that we are not alone in this situation, Skelet.Org has created a thematic group on Facebook - Anti DMCA: Fight against illegal complaints to Google! (https://www.facebook.com/groups/antidmca).

We invite all colleagues who have encountered issues with illegal DMCA complaints filed with Lumen Database to contribute to the group. Specifically, please share links to materials removed due to illegal complaints. We also encourage you to repost these posts on Facebook and your websites.

Let's work together to punish those who harm a healthy, civilized information space!

Skelet.Org

On topic: Special Operations Director Lunev is trying to purge Google of his dossier.

Businessman Yuri Osmak is attempting to "cleanse" the internet: Journalists are being inundated with complaints demanding the removal of revealing material.

DragonMoney Casino, which operates on the Ukrainian market without a license, is scrubbing the internet of investigations into the bribery and protection of a former MP.

Anatoly Shkriblyak's tough fight with the media


This is interesting. They are complaining to Google about this. Skeleton.Org: 


DMCA / DMCA

Add a comment

Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!